Aaron Alexander Bouleyne

BFA ’21 Textile Design

Artist Statement:

My work explores confessional aspects of my relationship with sexuality, marriage, and beauty, utilizing domestic objects to reexamine their cultural pathos. Being brought up in a traditional Ukrainian household, I was raised to believe that marriage as an institution was the key to success and stability. Yet, being in a time where the moments of intimacy become indefinable, relationships become blurred and beauty is exalted in social media. Conflict and contradiction arise within the bedroom and creates a space of tension between freedom and tradition that defines the boundary between the logical and subjective. While working within culturally nuanced materials and colors, I create stark contrast between the prevailing and subjective notions within the limitation of both modern and post-modern iconography.
Biography:
Aaron is an undergraduate in the School of Art and Design at East Carolina University, pursuing a BFA degree in Studio Art with a concentration in Textile Design. Having been raised in a Ukrainian home and community, he merges the contemporary aesthetics of a post-Maidan Ukraine with that o traditional Slavic art. He was awarded the Undergraduate Research and Creativity Award grant to research and create a body of work reflecting the nature of the conflict of Ukraine through the national dress. The work is currently on display in Odessa Ukraine. His work deals with how one’s culture and sexuality can impact a person’s perception of relationships and intimacy. He works primarily with found objects, wool, silk, natural dyes and weavings.

Медея:(Installation) Cotton, natural dye, gold leaf; Handwoven cashmere, wool; Liquid eyeliner, bleach. , 2021

Галатея:Ink, cyanotype, and gold leaf on Linen , 2021

Война и голод: Jacquard Woven , 2020

Елена Троянская: Cyanotype on Linen , 2021

Кострома и Купало: Acrylic and Cyanotype on Linen , 2020